An Evening at the Oscars

Frozen wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Film

Mar 03, 2014 | By Cameron Keady

JOHN SHEARER—INVISION/AP

Idina Menzel performs "Let It Go" from Frozen during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2.

The 86th Academy Awards, officially called The Oscars, was held Sunday night in Los Angeles, California. The biggest personalities in the entertainment industry were in attendance to celebrate a year of music and film. Television host, actress, and comedian Ellen DeGeneres hosted this year’s ceremony, keeping up the momentum of the show with jokes, selfies, costume changes, and a pizza delivery.

Though the awards were held in warm and sunny California, there was one Oscar winner that cast an icy spell over the theater. Disney’s Frozen took home two trophies, for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, for “Let It Go.”

JOE KLAMAR—AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Frozen's songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez celebrate their win after the ceremony.

Snowy Success

Frozen tells the story of two princesses, Elsa and Anna, in a Nordic kingdom called Arendelle. Elsa has magical powers that allow her to create snow and ice, but has trouble controlling them. When Elsa accidentally freezes all of Arendelle in an eternal winter, she flees the kingdom in fear. Anna chases after her sister, and on the way encounters a talking and singing snowman named Olaf, a mountain man named Kristoff, and his best pal—a reindeer named Sven. They join Anna on her adventure up the snowy North Mountain to find Elsa. This story of love conquering fear grossed over $1 billion in box office sales since its release in November 2013.

The icy animated film was nominated with four other movies: The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Ernest & Celestine, and The Wind Rises. Husband-and-wife songwriting team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez accepted the award for Best Song, which was performed by actress, and the voice of Elsa, Idina Menzel later on in the show.

The Oscars lasted a full three and a half hours, and honored the wide range of films that made 2013 a spectacular year in cinema. During their acceptance speech, Lopez and Anderson-Lopez sang to Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter: “Happy Oscars to you, let’s do Frozen 2.” Fingers crossed for another frosty film!

For more about Frozen, check out TFK Kid Reporter Camryn Garrett's interview with Kristen Bell, the voice of Princess Anna.